Welcome to the Greene Family Tree Farm
by LemonStar
Summary: ..Daryl/Beth.. AU - no zombies. The Greene Family Tree Farm is open from the first Friday after Thanksgiving until December 23rd and in that time, people from all over come - mainly to cut down their Christmas trees, but also to watch if this is the year Hershel Greene's daughter, Beth, and the farmhand, Daryl Dixon, finally make a move on one another.
1. Mika

**I have been waiting to write holiday fluff for months now, but obviously, I wanted to wait for the holidays. This will just be a short one - six chapters or so - and each will be told from a different character's POV.**

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Chapter One. Mika.

Every year, on the Friday after Thanksgiving, the Samuels family gets into their car and drives to the Greene family farm to cut down their Christmas tree. It's a tradition and one that Mika's parents had began before they even had their two daughters.

The day after Thanksgiving is the first day the tree portion of the Greene farm is open for business for the holiday season and the Samuels are definitely not the only family pulling into the gravel parking lot.

The different evergreens are planted in neat rows, stretching for acres and acres, each with a different colored tag tied to the top of it to differentiate between the different varieties of firs, pines, and spruces that Hershel Greene grows and the price of each one.

"Lizzie!" Their dad calls after Mika's older sister because no sooner has he parked the car and turned off the engine that Lizzie has pushed her door open and has taken off running. Their dad hurries after her and Mika's mom turns in her seat to smile at Mika still in the backseat, having not even gotten her seatbelt off yet.

"Want to get some hot chocolate before we head out?"

"Yes!" Mika answers excitedly.

There is a small building at the end of the gravel parking lot where people pay for their trees, get rope and saws if they haven't brought their own, and there are complimentary little cups of hot chocolate or coffee.

Inside the building, Mika sees Beth Greene – Hershel's youngest daughter – and she is making sure there are plenty of small Styrofoam cups on the beverage table next to the cash register as well as napkins, containers of sugar and cream and little red straws.

Mika has always like Beth. Or Ms. Greene. Mika is still getting used to calling her that even though its November and Ms. Greene has been Mika's fourth-grade English teacher since September.

The Samuels have always come to the Greene farm to cut their tree down for Christmas as well as coming in the fall to pick apples from their orchards and the school is often asking to come to the Greene farm for field trips; for the students to learn about milking cows and how the bees make their honey in the beehives and to help the farmhand sheer the sheep.

For as long as Mika has been coming to the Greene farm, she has known Beth. Ms. Greene. And in Mika's opinion, Beth has always been the prettiest, kindest woman there is. She always has a smile for everyone as well as a friendly word or two. In her class, just after the bell rings, Ms. Greene will ask her class how everyone is doing and her students have learned that when she asks that, she is genuinely interested in the answers they give her and actually listens to them.

Upon hearing the little bell over the door tinkle as Mika and her mom step in, Beth lifts her head and smiles the instant she sees them.

"Good morning!" She greets cheerfully.

"Good morning, Beth. How was your Thanksgiving?"

"Good morning, Ms. Greene."

"It was wonderful," Beth answers and there is a smile on her face that makes Mika believe that it was possibly the best Thanksgiving ever. "And yours?"

She doesn't mean to, but as Beth and her mom exchange pleasantries, talking about the upcoming holiday and which trees on the farm are the best this year, Mika gets bored. Quickly. And she can smell the hot chocolate from the five-gallon dispenser on the table. Excusing herself – even though her mom and Beth really aren't paying attention, but her mom has taught her manners – Mika goes to the table, helping herself to a small cup of hot chocolate, holding it up to her face and smiling as the steam swirls hotly on her skin.

The little bell rings out again and all three turn their heads to see who it is.

Mika knows him even though she doesn't really _know_ him.

Daryl Dixon has been the Greene farmhand for a few years now. He's the one to help Hershel Greene with the field trips when the groups of kids come, wanting to learn all about the working farm. He helps in the autumn, when people come to pick apples, and he helps in the winter, when people come to chop down their Christmas trees.

And as Hershel Greene gets older with each passing year, Daryl helps more and more with the everyday tasks that the farm needs to be seen to.

Daryl looks to Mika and her mom and nods politely at them, but then his eyes move to Beth and they stay on her. Mika turns to look at her teacher and Beth is looking at Daryl in return, her cheeks noticeably pinker, and a soft smile across her face.

"Excuse me for one moment," Beth says to Mika's mom and then walks to Daryl and together, they step away so they're not blocking the door.

"How's the hot chocolate?" Mika's mom asks as she joins Mika at the table and helps herself to a cup, but Mika admits that she's not really paying attention to anything at the moment except for Beth and Daryl.

Her dad has always called her curious. _Too_ curious in some people's opinion, but Mika doesn't see the harm in that. She doesn't see the harm in questioning most things around her. If she doesn't ask, how will she ever know?

Her mom has always called her observant. _Too_ observant in some people's opinions, but again, Mika doesn't see the harm in that. She likes to watch the world around her and figure out how things work around her.

Lizzie has a tendency to see things that just aren't there. She whole-heartedly believes in little leprechauns in the woods and unicorns in some far-off fields. And it isn't as if Mika thinks that's wrong and it isn't as if she doesn't have an imagination. She's a kid, after all. But she likes to consider herself a realist.

So as she and her mom stand at the table, sipping their cups of hot chocolate, Mika can't stop herself from watching her teacher and her family's farmhand.

Daryl is holding a tag in his hand that Mika knows comes from one of the trees.

"Caught him switchin' tags," Daryl is saying in a low voice and Mika notices that there seems to be very little distance between the two.

Beth nods and she takes the tag from his hand, her fingers lingering on his. "He tries this every year. You would think he would learn his lesson," she says.

"Don't know why you haven't figured this out yet, but he's kind of an idiot," Daryl replies and Beth lets out a laugh before she slaps her hand over her mouth and Daryl is looking at her, his own lips twitching into a smile.

"You're terrible," Beth tells him, but she does so with a smile across her face.

Daryl shrugs and lowers his eyes almost bashfully. Now, his cheeks are the ones which are noticeably pinker.

Mika sips her hot chocolate and wonders if they're dating. She notices that while standing close to one another, they're actually not touching. Actually, they seem almost _shy_ , blushing like a boy and girl at school who are caught holding hands by their friends.

"You let me know if you need me in here when he comes to pay," Daryl says.

Beth smiles and shakes her head slightly. "You're going to be busy today," she tells him as if reminding him, but Daryl shakes his head at that and he's staring into Beth's eyes.

Mika founds herself just standing there, watching them – outright staring – as if she's watching a television show, both of her hands cupped around the cup in her hands.

"Not too busy for you," Daryl says quietly and Beth blushes, dropping her head shyly.

And Daryl begins to lean in and Mika finds herself holding her breath as she watches, thinking that Daryl is actually going to kiss her head, but then at the last moment, he seems to talk himself out of it and pulls himself back. Rather quickly.

Mika can't help, but feel disappointed as Daryl takes a step back and Beth looks at him again.

"Gotta get back out there," Daryl says and then clears his throat. "Trees ain't gonna shake themselves."

Beth nods and visibly swallows. "Come inside for coffee when you get too cold."

"I will," he promises with a firm nod of his head.

He leaves then, the tiny bell ringing out, and Beth stands where she is, only turning so she can look out the front window, watching him walk away.

"Come on, Mika," her mom's hand is on her shoulder then. "We've watched long enough," she adds in a near whisper.

They leave the building, smiling at Beth, and go out to find Mika's dad and Lizzie again.

"You were watching them, too?" Mika asks as they toss their empty cups into the trash barrel next to the building.

Mika's mom just smiles. "It was hard not to."

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 **Thank you so much for reading and please take a moment to review!**


	2. Shawn

**I have never written Shawn like this, but I felt like experimenting a little. Hope you like it!**

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Chapter Two. Shawn.

All Shawn Greene wanted to do for the rest of his life was play football.

And in high school, it seemed like he would be able to do just that. He had college scouts coming to his games, staring when he was a sophomore and his reputation was already spreading across all of Georgia; a quarterback who would be able to go to any Big 10 school that he wanted to go to and then a career in the NFL would be almost guaranteed. Maybe even a Heisman Trophy thrown in.

That was how good Shawn Greene was at football.

But then, senior year of high school, during a game, he tore his knee muscles to shreds and no one wanted to be the one to say it even they all knew the same thing. Shawn would never play football again. And just like that, at eighteen, in Shawn's opinion, his entire life was over and dead, just like the muscles that decided to betray him.

His mom and dad wanted him to still go to college and to that, Shawn said "Fuck no", not even fearing the wrath of Hershel Greene for saying such a word.

He did leave. But it wasn't to go to college. It was just to get the hell away from the farm and his small town where everyone was still looking at him with pity and constant question of "What are you going to do now?" and he just couldn't take it anymore.

He stays away for years, bouncing from one place to another, working odd jobs to afford random motel rooms if he can't crash on a random friend's couch and he lives on Ramen Noodles and Taco Bell in that time. He works on his own physical therapy, buying a bicycle from a pawn shop and from that moment on, he doesn't have a car, but a bike, and he bikes everywhere. He sees Mount Rushmore on his bike and New Orleans and Nashville on his bike.

When he finally decides to come home to Georgia, it is because he figures enough years have passed and he is now able to walk without a too-noticeable limp in his step – except when it's cold. When it's cold, he walks like a fucking pirate with a fucking peg leg.

But thankfully, his dad has him – mostly – helping people tie trees to their car roofs and he doesn't have to do too much obvious walking for that.

It's not the life he _ever_ had planned for himself and it definitely isn't the life he wants, but it's the life he has. Working on his dad's family farm, still living with his parents even though he's twenty-six and most mornings, he wakes up and feels like a complete loser. A failure. But it is what it is. God didn't want him playing football and instead, He wants Shawn to be lugging Christmas trees around. Fine. Shawn will play along, but there better be a huge reward for him at the end of this shit show that has become his life.

One good thing about being home, Shawn supposes, is being able to spend time with his little sister, Beth. Not that she's little anymore, but she'll always be his little sister. She doesn't live at home anymore – having moved out the year before in her own little place – but she comes and helps on the farm as much as her teaching job will allow. She helps the most around Christmastime when people flood the Greene Family Tree Farm for their Christmas trees.

He's always been close to Beth. Ever since they were both little kids. She always looked at him as if maybe, he was the best person in the whole world, and she compared everyone to him. Every schmuck in high school who liked to pant after her, Beth would compare them to both her big brother and her daddy and they never would stand a chance – which was just fine with Shawn.

He was busy enough with football. He didn't have time to beat up every guy who wanted to date Beth and he knew his sister was – still is – beautiful so there were plenty of guys.

But thankfully, Beth's standards were high then and it looks like they still are since she doesn't seem to be dating anyone and asking his mom, Annette tells him that there hasn't been any serious boyfriend since a relationship in college that had lasted for a year.

Again though, that's fine with Shawn because while he has far more time now to scare off any guy that comes sniffing around Beth, that doesn't mean that he _wants_ to. He will, of course, but he's trying to put his own life back together still – eight years after high school – and beating up guys would be a distraction, but Shawn's learned something since he's come home again. Beth has grown up and it seems like Beth can take care of herself. He still watches whenever a guy gets too close to her, in his opinion, but Shawn has noticed that Beth hardly looks at any of them.

There is one though. One guy that seems to always get Beth smiling wider and brighter than she smiles at any one else.

In the months since he's been home, Shawn is still getting to know his dad's main farmhand, Daryl Dixon. Daryl seems nice enough. He likes to be quiet so Shawn doesn't know that much about him, still, but Shawn is definitely fine with the quiet. And what he does know about him, Daryl Dixon is a damn hard worker and that's not the worst thing that a guy can be.

After he notices the smiles Beth gives the guy though, Shawn watches a hell of a lot more; watches both Beth and Daryl, but he's pretty sure nothing is happening between them. They actually don't seem to even talk to one another that much. Sometimes, Daryl will go into the little building and Shawn will just happen to go in, too, and he'll watch as Daryl gets himself some coffee to warm himself up and Beth will smile at him and Daryl will give her the tiniest smile in return, but Beth is usually ringing a customer up and if she's not, she will see that Shawn is there and choose to talk to him instead.

Maybe he's just imagining the smiles he thinks he sees Beth giving Daryl.

But no. There's no way he's imagining it because sometimes, he'll be in the bathroom in the little building and he'll come out again and Daryl and Beth will suddenly spring apart from where they have been standing together. He notices they're never touching, but their heads are close together, speaking so softly, he can never catch the words and he keeps waiting to come upon them when they're kissing. But that never happens either. Shawn will frown and Beth will go back to stand behind the register and Daryl gets the hell out of there, going back outside.

Shawn won't ask. He'll just look at Beth and she will be as red as a fire truck and avoiding his eyes.

Every schmuck in high school who liked to pant after her, Beth would compare them to both her big brother and her daddy and they never would stand a chance.

Does this mean that Daryl _does_ compare?

One day, Shawn decides to just get on with it and ask.

Daryl has already hurried out the door and Beth stands there, slightly out of breath as if she's just run from one end zone to the other. But still, Shawn hasn't walked in on them kissing. It's the same as always. He walks in and they're standing close – but not close enough to touch – and they are staring into one another's eyes and any other man and woman would have been kissing by that point, but not Daryl and Beth.

The old Shawn – pre-busted up knee Shawn – would have been just fine with that. But now, this new Shawn – loser with a bum knee who still lives at home Shawn – he just finds himself getting impatient; as if he's watching a television show and just wants the storyline to get the hell on with it already.

"Have you slept with him?" Shawn asks, point-blank, but if Daryl and Beth haven't even kissed – and he can't imagine that they have – he can't imagine sex is even on the table.

Yet.

"Shawn!" Beth immediately chastises him, her blush managing to grow even darker.

He smiles a little at that. "So Daryl can be compared to me and dad and actually hold his own?"

Then again, he can't imagine _any_ woman in her right mind compare a guy to Shawn. If anything, Shawn is the one who's compared to another guy to show in all of the ways that he's now lacking.

Beth looks him straight in the eye. "Yes," she says quietly, but her voice is strong and firm.

Shawn looks at her for a moment.

To Beth, he's still someone. He's always been someone.

And he needs to start being a big brother to her again; the big brother who looks out for her and gives any guy who is sniffing around her a tough as shit time about it.

Without a word to Beth, Shawn leaves the building and heads towards the tree shaker where Daryl is standing, shaking someone's tree out for them.

Time to finally try and talk with Daryl Dixon and find out a bit more about him; see if he can really measure up to Hershel and Shawn Greene.

In the back of his mind though, Shawn's already pretty sure that Daryl does. If he didn't, Beth wouldn't be giving him the time of day. Beth's always had high standards and Shawn can't see her dropping those for just some guy.

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 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to review!**


	3. Sophia

**I absolutely love this chapter. I hope you enjoy it, too!**

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Chapter Three. Sophia.

She doesn't mean to sound like a terrible girl. Honest. But this Christmas is the first Christmas she and her mama are having without her daddy and already, it's the best Christmas ever.

Her mama has been a waitress at Red Lobster for as long as Sophia can remember, but this past month, mama's been promoted to hostess and it comes with the slightest pay bump and Sophia may be young, but she's not an idiot. Far from it. She knows that all of her mama's money, before, had gone right to her daddy, but not anymore.

When her daddy died, they didn't have enough money for a funeral so the county cremated him for them and gave mama the box of ashes. Sophia knows the box is still sitting on the shelf in mama's closet, mama having no idea what to do with them. Sophia doesn't know either, to be honest. She has seen in movies when people scatter ashes of people they loved in places that those people have loved. The only place she can think of her daddy ever loving is the couch in their living room, but obviously, they're not going to scatter his ashes there.

For the first time, when mama smiles at her and asks her what she wants for Christmas, Sophia finds herself actually having high hopes that this year, she'll get something she wants. Her mama has always done the best she can when it comes to getting Sophia presents for Christmas, but it's hard with little to no money and Sophia has grown to not expect much when she wakes up on the morning of the twenty-fifth, but this year, everything is different and there's no reason that Christmas won't be, too.

When mama told her that morning over breakfast that they would be going to the Greene Family Tree Farm, Sophia had nearly started choking on a Lucky Charm marshmallow, but she managed to swallow it down and gaped at her mama.

"Really? A real Christmas tree this year?" Sophia had been unable to contain herself.

Mama just laughed. "Yep. A real Christmas tree this year."

Daddy had _never_ let them have a real Christmas tree. He said they were too messy and they took up too much room and were just too much damn work, lugging the damn thing in and setting it up in a stand and making sure it had plenty of water every day.

But daddy's not here anymore and Sophia doesn't mean to be a terrible girl. Honest. But some things are just _so_ much better without him around.

"What do you think of this one?" Mama asks, later that morning after they have warmly bundled themselves up and have driven out to the farm and have walked through rows of trees. Mama has already told Sophia that they're sticking with Fraser Firs – which all Fraser Firs have red tags tied to them.

Sophia tilts her head slightly to the side, frowning. "It's a little short," she decides.

"Well, we don't want one _too_ tall. There won't be room for the angel if it's to the ceiling," mama says with a smile and with an arm around Sophia's shoulders, they keep walking.

"What about that one?" Sophia says after a moment, pointing to another Fraser Fir.

Mama looks at it and then looks to Sophia with a raised eyebrow. " _That_ one? You don't want a short one, but you want one filled with holes?"

Sophia shrugs and looks back to the tree. "No one else will want it. And it's not its fault that it has so many holes."

Mama looks at her for a moment and then with her arm still around her shoulders, she pulls Sophia tightly into her side for a hug. "You are absolutely right. And I think it's the perfect tree for our first Christmas."

Sophia smiles happily just from those words.

"Do you mind standing guard?" Mama asks. "I don't want someone to come and take this tree right from under us. I'm going back to the main building and see if someone can help us cut it down."

"I'll be right here," Sophia readily promises.

Mama smiles and kisses her on the forehead before she turns and starts heading down the row again and as promised, Sophia stands next to the tree and doesn't move. In fact, she takes her glove-clad hand and reaching – carefully – through the spacious branches, her fingers curl around the trunk. _No one_ is going to take this tree from her.

"Don't know why your old man just won't kick 'im out," a male voice grunts from the next row, getting closer.

"Because it's Christmas," a female voice replies. "And it's a game. We know that he switches tags and he knows we know that he switches tags and we all just go about our merry ways, catching him and stopping him until he does it again."

"Think you're givin' Len too much credit. Think he's just an idiot who thinks he can get away with it without us noticin'."

Sophia peeks around her tree and between two other trees into the next row.

She recognizes Beth Greene – the daughter of the family who owns this farm. She's an English teacher at the elementary school, but not hers, because she teaches fourth and Sophia is in the fifth grade this year. But she still knows Beth. It's a small town and the Greenes are one of those families who everyone knows and they know everyone in return. Sophia has always thought Beth Greene to be beautiful.

The man with her is Daryl Dixon. Sophia knows him. He's friends with his mama. At least, Sophia thinks they're friends. He comes to the house more now that daddy's gone and he'll help mama with a leaky sink or fixing roof tiles or changing the oil in their car. Daryl is always nice to her and always smiles at her, but he's quiet and there's just something about him. Sophia's not sure why, but she think she has a lot in common with him, but she doesn't think she'll ever be brave to ask.

They don't know Sophia is there, watching them from between the trees as Beth and Daryl stop at a lushly filled Fraser Fir tree. Beth, standing on her tip toes, begins tying a red tag to one of its branches.

"Gotta be higher up, girl," Daryl says after a second of watching her. "Len's tall. You gotta make it harder for him to try and get it."

"I'm short, Daryl," Beth says, frowning at him, but Sophia has a feeling that Beth really doesn't really mean it and Sophia thinks that Daryl must not think Beth means it either because he just smirks down at her and then reaching past her, he unties the red tag and then stretching up, he ties it to the highest most branch on the tree. "Much better," Beth then says, smiling up at him.

Daryl stares down at her and Beth stares up at him and for a moment, they just stand there. Sophia's not entirely sure why, but she feels like maybe she should be holding her breath. She's not entirely sure why, but she feels like she's watching something very important right now and the slightest disturbance will ruin it.

Beth tilts her head up a little further and she takes a step in a little closer to Daryl. And in return, Daryl's face seems to be dropping lower, getting closer to Beth's face.

Sophia has no idea why, but she almost starts giggling when their lips touch. She quickly slaps her free gloved-hand over her mouth, still not wanting to make a peep.

It's a soft kiss – light and almost shy. Sophia had her first kiss last year. Carl Grimes kissed her on the bus stop outside of school one afternoon and it had been just like this kiss is between Beth and Daryl. It was such a quick kiss, Sophia hadn't even been entirely sure that it had happened at all before Carl was turning and hurrying away.

Daryl and Beth aren't running away from one another and the kiss isn't ending, but it's still soft and light. And then Beth seems to let out some sort of sigh before her hands – encased in mittens – lift and curl around the lapels of Daryl's coat. And it's as if Daryl takes that as some sort of sign because his own arms slowly wind around Beth's waist, pulling her in even closer and Beth tilts her head slightly to the side and she moans softly as Daryl's mouth completely covers hers.

Sophia knows she shouldn't be looking, but it looks _just_ like a kiss from a movie.

Again, Sophia feels like giggling and she has no idea why.

"Sophia!"

Sophia nearly groans in disappointment when she hears her mama call out for her and Daryl and Beth spring apart as if they have been doing something terribly wrong. Both of them are blushing and hardly looking at one another.

"I should…" Beth begins to say, pointing in the direction of where they had just walked from, and then trails off.

"Yeah, me, too," Daryl agrees, pointing in the opposite direction.

"Sophia, where are you?" Mama calls out.

Beth and Daryl stand there for another moment and they're staring at each other again, but then Daryl scratches the back of his head and mumbles something and walks off and Beth turns just enough to watch him from over her shoulder before she rubs at her pink cheeks with her mittens, smiling a little, and then hurries away, too.

"I'm here, mama!" Sophia finally calls out when she's sure that Daryl and Beth are far enough away to not realize that she had been standing there, able to watch the whole thing between them.

…

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 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to review!**


	4. Glenn

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Chapter Four. Glenn.

This isn't good. Not good at all – even though it actually _is_ good. He thinks it is. At least for Beth and Daryl. He thinks. But not for Glenn. It's not good for Glenn by a long shot.

Because the thing with Glenn is this. He's terrible at keeping secrets. Absolutely terrible. And when he finds his sister-in-law and the farmhand kissing, Glenn's pretty sure that the couple want to keep it a secret – at least for the time being – and that's just not good for Glenn.

When his wife, Maggie, turned thirty earlier that year, her family and friends had planned a big surprise party for her. And for Glenn, too, in a way because he had just been as surprised as Maggie was when they walked into the church hall to shouts of "Surprise!". Beth and Annette had planned the whole thing and as they told everyone about the party, they had had one specific instruction.

"Don't breathe a word about any of this to Glenn."

Glenn wasn't insulted when he found out. Why would he be? It's the truth. He can't keep a secret.

So, when he has helped a family with tying their newly bought tree to the roof of their car – the last customers of the night and everyone else has either headed up to the farmhouse or back to their own homes – and he heads back into the small building, pulling his gloves off, the first thing he sees is Daryl Dixon and his sister-in-law kissing and well…

Well, shit, to be honest.

Beth is standing behind the cash register as she usually is and Daryl – who has come inside for a last cup of coffee for the night to help warm himself back up again now that the work day is done – is holding the Styrofoam cup in one hand and his other is resting on the side of Beth's face, and Beth's face is tilted up towards his, their lips touching. But as soon as they hear the bell above the door ring out, they pull apart and turn to see who has walked in on them.

Glenn stands there and stares at them and he knows his mouth is hanging open, but he can't find it in him right now to close it.

Beth's eyes seem to widen at the sight of him and she then looks to Daryl. Daryl just looks at Glenn though and doesn't say a word. Glenn looks to him and tries to read his expression, but reading Daryl Dixon's expression is just about impossible. The man is the definition of a blank slate. Glenn likes him – has liked him from the first day Hershel hired Daryl for the farm – and Glenn has tried to get to know him in that time, but he never seems to make any headway.

For a moment, Glenn gets distracted and wonders if Beth has gotten Daryl to open up to her. She must have if they're standing in here, kissing. And then, remembering what he has walked in, Glenn is completely prepared to turn around and run outside and not talk to anyone. Ever again.

"Please, don't say anything to anyone, Glenn," Beth says quickly, stepping away from Daryl to come around to the front of the counter.

Glenn groans. That is the absolute worst thing that Beth can say to him and they both know it.

"Beth," Glenn says and he's well aware of the fact that he's whining, but he really doesn't care.

She knows what she's asking of him and yet, she is asking anyway.

"Might not be anythin' to tell anyway," Daryl speaks up. "We're still figurin' things out."

Glenn notices the way Beth's face falls at that, but it only lasts for a second before she wipes it away. With her back turned towards Daryl, Daryl doesn't see, but Glenn sees the way Daryl is staring at the back of Beth's head.

"Exactly," she agrees, keeping her eyes on Glenn. "It's still so new and we… we want to keep it between us right now before everyone sees it fit to get involved."

That's true, Glenn knows. When he and Maggie began dating – and became serious fairly quickly with one another, Glenn suddenly found himself dating the entire Greene family. The Greene family is a close unit – always intertwined in one another's lives and Glenn learned to not only live with it, but to love it, too.

Glenn exhales a deep breath and doesn't say anything.

Beth smiles and reaches out, taking his hand in hers and giving it a squeeze. "Thank you, Glenn."

"Yeah, yeah," Glenn mutters and his eyes go back to Daryl and the man gives him a slight nod of his head.

Glenn sighs heavily and Beth squeezes his hand again.

"Don't worry," Beth says and she's doing her best to smile. "There will be no reason why me or Daryl would ever come up in a conversation."

Glenn gives Beth a look at that.

She is the youngest of the Greene family and is the apple of both her mom and dad's eyes and if Beth seems just the _tiniest_ bit "off", Annette and Hershel will analyze all possible reasons as to what has happened to their baby. And as for Daryl, all someone will have to do is mention the business of the tree farm this year and Glenn will just blurt it out. He knows it. He has absolutely no faith in himself.

"I'm going to head back to the house. Maggie wanted to stay for dinner tonight," Glenn says.

"I'll be up in a minute," Beth says with a small smile.

Glenn turns and leaves the building, stepping in the cold and dark, quiet night. The tree farm is closed for the day and out here, where the Greene farm is, especially during winter nights like this, it feels like it's the only place in the world. Away from town and other people, it is the sort of quiet people aren't used to.

It's so quiet tonight, Glenn can hear Beth and Daryl talking in the building. They aren't talking loudly, but they aren't talking softly. They are talking in normal tones and Glenn tells himself to walk away and head back to the house as he said he was going to do, but he feels himself unable to tell his feet that.

"I didn't mean that," Daryl is saying in that low voice of his that has been described by more the one woman – his wife and mother-in-law included – as chewing on gravel; whatever the hell that means, Glenn still isn't sure, but he doesn't really want to ask.

"It's okay, Daryl," Beth tells him and Glenn can imagine Beth shaking her head.

Glenn doesn't turn around to watch them. Hearing them is bad enough.

"Beth," Daryl then says and it sounds like he's sighing her name. "I know there's nothin' to figure out. Not when it comes to you and me."

There is quiet after that from inside and Glenn can only assume that they're kissing again. That gets Glenn's feet finally moving again and he heads through the rows of trees, heading towards the large farmhouse, warm lights glowing in the windows.

Stepping inside, he can hear the Greene family – Hershel and Shawn are in the living room, watching television, and there are the sounds of plates being taken down from the cabinet and pots hitting together in the kitchen, where Annette and Maggie are. Thank goodness Maggie isn't the first face he sees. If it was, Glenn already knows he would just blurt it out.

He is well aware that he has no spine when it comes to his wife.

"Hey, Beth! _Gremlins_ is starting!" Shawn calls from the living room and Glenn freezes.

He looks over his shoulder and sure enough, Beth _and_ Daryl are both stepping into the house.

"I'll be right there!" Beth calls back. "Is it alright if Daryl stays for dinner?"

"Of course it is!" Annette is the one to answer that.

Glenn instantly spins around and sees both of them – the _couple_ – taking off their hats, gloves and coats. He notes the pinkness of Beth's cheeks and he knows it's not due to the cold outside.

"Why?" He asks, hissing. "Why?" He is almost demanding.

Beth isn't that stupid. She knows that if she and Daryl are in the same room together, of course he is going to blurt their secret out. There is no way they are all walking away from tonight without it being said.

"Jus' think of somethin' else," Daryl advises as if it's the easiest thing in the world. "Football or somethin' Anythin'."

"I don't like football," Glenn says.

"And the fact that Maggie still married you…" Beth murmurs to herself, but she looks to Glenn and he can see her biting back a smile.

Glenn sighs heavily and Beth and Daryl walk past him to go into the living room.

"Hi, honey," Maggie greets him, coming into the hallway. She smiles and gives him a kiss. "Why are you still bundled up? Stay for a while."

"I walked in on Daryl and Beth kissing," Glenn blurts out.

"Glenn!" Beth shouts and stomps back into the hallway. "Seriously? Not even _one_ minute? Did you even try?" She crosses her arms over her chest and sets that Greene glare on him.

"The burden, Beth. It was crushing me!" Glenn cries back.

Maggie stares at Glenn and then looks to Beth for a moment. She doesn't say a word. She simply walks past them, into the living room. Beth promptly reaches out and smacks Glenn on the arm – Glenn doesn't blame her – before they both follow after her.

"Alright. Who had the 18th?" Maggie asks.

"I did!" Annette excitedly answers.

"I have to get my wallet," Shawn grumbles, pulling himself from the couch.

"Here, dear," Hershel stands up and hands his wife a five dollar bill. He then looks to Daryl – who is looking just as confused as both Glenn and Beth. "You couldn't have waited until the 24th? Quite a few people were thinking it'd be Christmas Eve for certain."

Daryl looks to Beth and then back to Hershel. "What?" He asks and that's all he's able to say.

"You guys… you were _betting_ on me and Daryl?" Beth finds her voice again.

"Dale Horvath is going to be upset with you two," Annette says, smiling as she takes two more five dollar bills – both from Maggie and Shawn. "He had a lot of money on the 24th."

"Daddy, you don't believe in gambling," Beth says, looking to Hershel.

Hershel chuckles. "I don't consider this gambling. I consider this having a bit of Christmas fun and encouraging my child in a roundabout way."

Glenn is standing there, his mouth slightly open. "Why didn't you let me play? I would have wanted in."

Annette, Hershel, Maggie and Shawn all look at him and say nothing.

"What?" He asks as if he has absolutely no idea.

"So, Mrs. Greene," Daryl speaks up. "If I tell you that me and Beth actually kissed on the 14th, who would win then?" He asks curiously.

"Still me," Annette smiles at him and folds the money, putting it into her pocket. "I had a dollar on every day from the 1st to the 25th."

…

* * *

 **The next chapter will be the last. Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to review!**


	5. Beth

…

Chapter Five. Beth.

"Merry Christmas, Shane!" Beth calls out as the man heads out the door, the bell tinkling out above his head.

"You, too, Beth," Shane gives her a grin before stepping outside with one final wave and with that, the Greene Family Tree Farm is officially closed for another season.

Shane Walsh is always their last customer. Every year. The tree farm is open from the day after Thanksgiving until December 23rd and every year on the 23rd, around three o'clock, when it's already getting dark outside, Shane shows up with his girlfriend, Amy, and they look at the trees for about a half hour before making their choice. As a deputy on the police force and a nurse in the hospital's ER, Shane and Amy's schedules aren't the easiest to coordinate with the other, but they insist that they always get their Christmas tree together.

Beth takes the money tray from the cash register and goes into her daddy's little office in the back of the building and locks the day's profits in for the day safely away into the safe so Hershel can deposit the money in the bank tomorrow morning.

She hears the bell tinkle and she gets up, making sure the safe is locked up tight before leaving the office. She smiles the instant she sees him and her stomach does a little flip. She wonders how long it will flip because it's been three years since Hershel has hired Daryl to work on the farm and the first time Beth saw him and met him, her stomach flipped and three years later, it still flips.

Daryl stands there, just inside the door. He has pulled his work gloves off and his hat and she almost wants to laugh from the state of his hair now, but she purses her lips together and is able to stop herself before she can.

"'nother year done," he says.

Beth smiles. "I think it gets faster every year."

She takes a step towards him and then stops; as if she's not entirely sure if she should come to stand right in front of him even though that's exactly what she wants to do.

Everyone knows about her and Daryl now. Not just her family, but _everyone_ , and she is still somewhat confused with the whole betting thing and the fact that no one seemed surprised in the least when they found out that she and Daryl are… well, they must be _something_ , but Beth actually isn't entirely sure because they haven't talked about it.

She can't imagine that Daryl is the sort to have those kinds of conversations and that's definitely a problem because Beth is the kind of sort to _want_ those kinds of conversations.

"You all done in here?" Daryl asks and Beth nods. He seems nervous for some reason, clutching his gloves and hat in his hands and not taking one step towards her, and Beth begins to feel nervous in return.

"I am," she answers. "I just need to get my coat."

"I'll wait for you," Daryl says and Beth gives him another smile as she turns to go back into the office to gather all of her outer layers.

There is a small mirror hanging on the wall and Beth finds herself studying her appearance. Why is Daryl nervous? It's never really a good thing when someone is nervous; especially when that someone is the man who has been kissing her and sharing smiles with her for the past couple of weeks and giving her stomach constant flips for the past few years.

Maybe he's regretting it. Maybe it's just been the whole Christmas spirit or something like that or maybe, worse still, he's just been bored and was looking for something to pass the time.

Beth frowns at that. That would be so terrible of him. Her stomach would definitely stop flipping if that turned out to be true. And yet, Beth can't imagine Daryl even thinking of doing something like that; kissing her just to occupy his time. She knows Daryl. He's shy and sweet and such a good man. He grumbles about all of the people who traipse all over the farm, looking for their Christmas tree, but he is the first to help one of the kids who are running and trip over a hidden tree stump or help the man who is sawing down his tree and his arm starts getting tired.

Daryl Dixon is the _best_ man and Beth keeps meaning to thank her daddy for hiring him those years ago. Hershel will never admit that he's getting too old to run the farm by himself, but – even with Shawn having come home to help and having a few other farmhands – Hershel admits at least once a day that he doesn't know what he would do if he didn't have Daryl to help him.

Daryl is a good man.

And he wouldn't just kiss her because he was bored. Beth rolls her eyes at herself for having that thought for even a second.

She zips and buttons up her coat, wraps her scarf securely around her neck, smashes her hat over her head and then holding her gloves – and with one more deep breath – she leaves the office.

Daryl is still standing at the door and it looks as if he is talking to himself. She has no idea what he's saying – he talking far too soft for her to hear anything – but she can see his lips moving.

And then, as if sensing her presence, he lifts his head abruptly and looks at her.

Flip goes her stomach.

She gives him a soft smile.

"Can I walk you home?" Daryl asks and Beth's smile grows.

Without a word, Beth pulls her gloves on and closes the space between them. Daryl gives her his own small smile and she slips her hand into his. She turns the lights off and they step outside and he then waits as she locks the door behind them.

They are quiet as they begin walking through the rows of the trees that remain, heading towards the farmhouse. The snow crunches beneath their boots and Beth finds herself humming _I Saw Three Ships_. From the corner of her eye, she can see Daryl looking at her every few seconds.

"Is everything alright?" Beth finally asks him.

"Huh?" Daryl asks as if he's barely heard her; so deep in thought. "Yeah. Everythin's fine. Everythin' good with you?"

Beth smiles; almost laughs. "Everything's fine," she echoes. "You seem… nervous."

"Nah, I'm fine," he says, but he doesn't seem fine at all.

"Daryl-" Beth begins to say because he doesn't seem fine at all and the more he says that he is, the less she believes him.

"I got you a Christmas present," Daryl cuts in and stops walking.

"You… You did?" Beth can't help, but be surprised.

Daryl seems surprised that she's surprised. "Yeah. Was that… should I…"

"No! I'm so glad you did! I just wasn't expecting…" Beth stops herself and shakes her head, looking up at him with a smile. "I got you a present, too, but I was waiting for Christmas."

"I didn't want to wait," Daryl then admits and Beth smiles at that. "I didn't wrap it," he then quickly adds as he reaches into his pocket.

"That's okay," she says, almost laughing because he is just so adorable.

She won't tell him that of course – she can just imagine Daryl's reaction at that – but it's the truth. There's just something about a man that is as handsome as Daryl – not to mention someone of Daryl's age – and having him standing in front of her, bumbling a bit.

"'s not that great," Daryl tells her once he pulls whatever the gift is from his pocket.

"I'll be the judge of that," she smiles up at him.

Daryl smirks a little, but she can feel the nerves radiating off of him in waves. Beth knows that no matter what Daryl gives her, she is going to act like it is the best thing she has ever received.

The farm is dark, but the moon is bright and a good size that evening so she's able to see what is in his hand when he opens his fist. She stares at it for a moment and then lifts her eyes to look at him; as if silently questioning him if he really means this.

"Only if you want it though," Daryl says when she doesn't say anything for a few beats.

Beth picks up the key and closes her fingers around it. She looks back up at him. "I definitely want it," she says, her voice quiet; as if amazed by this – and she is.

"The place is nothin' special," Daryl tells her. "And I know it's really soon so maybe, you can come over a couple of nights a week. Or whenever you want. And maybe… maybe you can help me make the place somethin'."

Beth feels tears in her eyes at that and they are completely unexpected and unwanted right now. Now is definitely not the time to start crying. She doesn't _want_ to start crying. Daryl has just given her a key to his place and she didn't even know she wanted this until it was given to her.

Beth wipes at her cheeks, clutching the key in her fist, and then, standing on her toes, she throws her arms his shoulders and crashes her mouth to his. Daryl wraps his arms tightly around her waist and holds her so firmly, he nearly pulls her up to the tips of her toes.

"I got you a pair of gloves and now I have to go and get you something else because I can't give you _just_ gloves after you give me something like this," Beth says once she pulls her head back from his so she can breathe, laughing slightly, and Daryl smiles a little.

"You don't gotta get me anything, Beth. This, right here, is more than enough for me," he says.

Flip goes her stomach once more.

More tears flood her eyes and she has to laugh at herself because she is being so ridiculous. Shaking her head, she leans in so their mouths can meet once more.

"Merry Christmas, Daryl," she murmurs to him, keeping her eyes closed, brushing her nose against his.

And even though her eyes are closed, she can hear Daryl smiling that little smile of his.

"Merry Christmas, Beth."

…

* * *

 **Thank you so much for reading and please take a moment to review! I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and an awesome holiday!**


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